Nabisco Cup Quarterfinals, 1st leg, Win at Home!

　The quarterfinals of the Nabisco Cup are being held. Tokyo will play the first match at home against Nagoya Grampus. In addition to Tokyo, the teams that advanced from the qualifying league, Urawa, Yokohama FM, and Shimizu, as well as Kashima, Kawasaki, Nagoya, and G Osaka, who participated in the ACL, will participate in this quarterfinals. The semifinals will also be played in a home and away format.

　The team is currently on a 6-game winning streak in official matches since being promoted to J1. Despite the short interval of 2 days between the previous league match and this match against the same opponent, they want to extend their winning streak without losing momentum. However, the players are all saying, "Rather than focusing on how many consecutive wins we can achieve, it is important to give our all in each game and accumulate points." With a strong determination, they are taking one step at a time towards the path to the Cup Winners. Tokyo will face the match with the same starting lineup as the league match, and Otake will be on the bench for the first time since the Shimizu match in the Nabisco Cup on June 13.

　Nagoya, on the other hand, had coach Stojkovic discussing lineup changes after the defeat in the previous league match. Today, GK Nishimura and left-back Sato started. Also, MF Nakamura, who was suspended in the league match, and MF Yoshimura formed a double pivot, and they approached the match with a fresh formation of FW Davi and Sugimoto as the two forwards.

　In order to determine the advancement through two matches, it is desirable to score as many goals as possible and win to gain an advantage. However, if the number of victories and the goal difference are the same after two matches, the away goals will determine the advancement. Considering that, it is preferable to avoid conceding goals at home. Whether the team can unify their will and carry out a stable game is one of the highlights. First and foremost, we want to secure a solid victory at home. The rainy season has ended and the full-fledged summer has arrived. Ajinomoto Stadium, where the humidity remains even at night, the match started exactly at 19:30 with Nagoya's kickoff.

Hirayama, Yonemoto, Nao, and Nagatomo attack the Nagoya goal!

　Today, the opening goal came in the 3rd minute. Nagoya withstood the fierce attack from the start and Kanda sent a goal kick to the front line. Hirayama competed for this and Nagoya's defense escaped with a throw-in. Ishikawa quickly threw the ball in from the right side, and Kabore caught up in a high position near the right sideline, sending a minus pass to the center of the area. Hirayama, who was waiting freely here, easily connected and stabbed the ball into the goal with his right foot! They took the lead with quick decision-making and coordination.

　With this momentum, in the 10th minute, Ishikawa, who was positioned towards the center, passed the ball to the left front line. Cabore received the ball with one touch and made a fierce dash towards the goal. His shot from a close distance was saved by the Nagoya GK, but Hayu persistently followed up and skillfully turned around to pass it to Yonemoto behind him. Yonemoto controlled the ball well with his right foot and scored his first professional goal with a powerful shot! In the immediate 11th minute, from Tokunaga's side change, Hayu on the far side passed the ball to Cabore on the right front line again. Cabore temporarily kept the ball, then returned it to the center and Kajiyama, who had moved up there, sent it into the right area with a header. Ishikawa timed it perfectly, confidently swung his right foot, and beautifully placed it into the far corner, marking his sixth consecutive goal! In the blink of an eye, they took a 3-0 lead.

　After that, the game settled down a bit, but even when Nagoya brought the ball into our area, we calmly dealt with it. We didn't give them any scoring opportunities. In the 26th minute, Bruno QUADROS made a feed and Ishikawa, who was on the left side, made a run and brought the ball forward with a trap. He made a dash to the left area, but was stopped by Nagoya defender Tanaka and couldn't take a shot. Nevertheless, we kept possession and passed it back to Nagatomo. Nagatomo took a precise shot from the left area, which curved into the upper right corner while the Nagoya goalkeeper watched, and scored the fourth goal.

　In the 32nd minute, the DF line and midfield passed the ball, and as soon as they saw a chance, Tokunaga moved forward. Hirayama, who had slipped behind the DF, took a right corner kick. From Ishikawa's right corner kick to the center, to Yonemoto. Yonemoto couldn't take a shot, but he persistently connected the play, and Hayashi in the left area → Hirayama took a powerful shot, grazing the DF and hitting the post! Bruno QUADROS couldn't finish the rebound, and the fifth goal couldn't be scored, but with 7 shots, they scored 4 goals and ended the first half.

Despite being caught off guard by Nagoya's rhythm, they achieve a big victory

　In the second half, Tokyo substituted Akamine for Kabore, while Nagoya substituted Tamada for Davi. As a result, Nagoya gained momentum. Tokyo tried to create chances by passing the ball, but they were caught on the counterattack by Nagoya and were constantly threatened with goals even after restarts. In the 47th minute, Nagoya was awarded a free kick from the left area near the goal. Nagoya midfielder Ogawa sent the ball to the front line, but it was caught directly by Konda. In the 51st minute, Nagoya took another shot from a free kick on the left side, this time from the right area, and defender Masukawa shot, but Konda made the save!

　However, in the 53rd minute, in the flow of the game, Nagoya MF Nakamura passed the ball to the right front line, and Tanaka, the right fullback, ran up to a high position. Ishikawa, who had returned to defense here, was cut back, and a cross was lifted. MF Ogawa, who had been filling the left area, headed the ball. Tokunaga was competing for it, but he scored a header shot from above and conceded a goal that he wanted to avoid...

　After that, both players showed signs of fatigue in the humid heat, and the line became stretched. However, in the 68th minute, Suzuki was substituted for Yonemoto, and in the 73rd minute, Tanabe was substituted for Ishikawa, with Hayu moving to the defensive midfield position. This player substitution helped regain composure. In the 75th minute, Tanabe, who came on as a substitute, dribbled forward while connecting passes, drawing out Tokunaga's attacking run. Against the cross sent into the goal area from here, Akamine was also closing in, but just before that, the opponent's defender's clearance resulted in an own goal, securing the 5th goal.

　Still, Nagoya tries to retaliate. In the 78th minute, FW Tsuda runs into the left area from a quick attack and takes a sharp shot that passes between Imakano's legs, but Gonda makes a great save! In the 85th minute, Nagoya's right full-back Tanaka advances and sends a ball with shooting potential to the front line. FW Tsuda also jumps in with his head, but Gonda catches it firmly and doesn't allow a counterattack. Although there are still challenges in the second half of the game, it ends with a score of 5-1. With a overwhelming advantage before the second leg of the quarterfinals away, they achieve their first official 7-game winning streak.

　【Player Comments】《Yonemoto》"(About my first goal) When the ball came to me, I was only thinking about getting it into the net, so I was surprised when it went in. But I'm glad it did. I'm happy I was able to score before Tanabe, who is also a rookie (laughs). We were able to turn around the first half in a good way, but the second half wasn't very good. The defense line dropped back, and we in the midfield also fell back. We ended up kicking the ball a lot, and our pressing became weak. We were pushed back and conceded a goal, but I think we were able to score the fifth goal at the end, which connected the team to the second match. I think we started well, but I want to improve the issues that came up in the second half." 《Tanabe》"I was preparing from midway through the first half, but the plan changed and I came in midway through the second half. Just before I came on, we conceded a goal, which made it a bit difficult to get into the game, but I'm glad that I came in and we didn't get into more trouble. (Did I become the starting point for the fifth goal?) If I pass too quickly, the opponent will come at me, so I thought I would dribble once and catch them off guard. That moment was good, but I lost the ball a couple of times after that and we faced some dangerous counterattacks. I might have dribbled too aggressively. I want to reflect on that properly. Also, it takes me a while to get into the game, which is an issue. However, I played for the first time at Ajinomoto in the last league match against Nagoya, and since it's home, the pitch is good, and it's fun. My local friends are close by, so they come to support me. I want to work hard to be able to contribute more."

　【Summary of Coach Jofuku's Press Conference】 "On a weekday night game, it was difficult for fans and supporters to come to the stadium, yet many showed up. I cannot afford to have a strange match for those people. We lost in the quarterfinals of the Nabisco Cup last year, so there was a strong desire to get through this time. Additionally, there was high motivation to not stop our recent progress. We started the match well and scored four goals in the first half. I wanted to keep the score at zero for the opponent, but we relaxed a bit in the second half, which is something to reflect on. However, overall, scoring five goals against a strong team like Nagoya gives us confidence. Today, we saw creativity in front of the goal and some retries. I was pleased that the players were inventive, avoiding forced shots that hit the opponent. Of course, there were moments when it would have been better to shoot, as seen in the video. However, it is important to gradually make the right decisions through trial and error, and I want to commend the efforts in trying and being creative. In fact, in the first half, there were instances where we scored after allowing other players to take the shot when it should have been ours. I want the team to work on making precise decisions without wavering. "

　[Nagoya - Summary of Coach STOJKOVIC's Press Conference] "It was like a nightmare. I congratulate FC Tokyo on their victory. For us, it was a lesson. We tried many things, but they didn't work out. (Did you change the lineup from the league match?) GK Narazaki was left out due to ear pain. I wanted to give FW Tamada a little rest, so I brought in FW Sugimoto. However, since the result turned out this way, changing players didn't make a significant difference. Today's match was all about the huge difference in speed. Our movements were like in slow motion, while FC Tokyo was like a Shinkansen. That was the difference. This is not a tactical issue. We did not have the answers to deal with players like Cabore, Ishikawa, and Hirayama. Especially the first goal, the throw-in went to Cabore, and he took it freely, but normally a DF should have been there to cover. I want to face the players and have a serious discussion about today's game. From next time, FW Kennedy will join us, and I also want to wait for the return of injured DF Yoshida and DF Bayaritsua. We will never give up, and I want to show a new Grampus from now on."